DEP sends back Elcon application for third time

Tuesday

Jan 9, 2018 at 7:56 PMJan 9, 2018 at 7:56 PM

The DEP announced Tuesday it has determined the latest application for a controversial waste treatment facility in Falls is incomplete.

In yet another stumbling block for the controversial project, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has rejected an application for a proposed hazardous waste treatment facility in Lower Bucks County.

Proposed to be built by Elcon Recycling Services LLC in the Keystone Industrial Port Complex in Falls, the plant would treat between 150,000 and 210,000 tons of chemical and pharmaceutical waste each year, according to the company's past proposal materials. Tuesday's announcement by the DEP marks the third time application materials for the project have been determined to be incomplete by the agency, and the second time in three months Elcon has failed to clear the same stage of review.

"(PADEP) has determined that the Phase II portion of (Elcon's application) is administratively incomplete," read a news release from the agency. "Although the application has been returned to the applicant as incomplete, it has not been denied. Elcon may resubmit its application after addressing the deficiency."

Elcon's application was originally rejected during a Phase I process — which deals solely with site suitability — in early 2015. After the DEP cited failure to provide enough information about flood risk at the site, Elcon successfully resubmitted the Phase I application and advanced to Phase II, which incorporates a much more rigorous review of the entire application.

However, the Phase II application received an initial rejection in May 2017, after the DEP reviewed the materials and found deficiencies. Elcon resubmitted materials in October, but the DEP announcement Tuesday means Elcon has still not cleared a "completeness" review that would even enable DEP to move on to a technical review of the proposal materials.

In a letter of deficiency on its website, the DEP gave three reasons the application was rejected, down from six last spring:

Elcon's application states it is the sole owner of record of the land, including surface and subsurface areas. The DEP said that was not accurate.Elcon did not provide related "background information" regarding property owners of record.The application did not include written consent of the landowner for entry onto the property.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Bucks County property records show the 23-acre parcel in question was still owned by U.S. Steel, which formerly operated a massive plant in the area. DEP letters to Elcon note the applicant is attempting to invoke a claim of "confidential business information" regarding a real estate sales agreement with U.S. Steel, which the DEP states is still under review.

It appears questions of site ownership would be Elcon's last hurdle to clear for the administrative review of the Phase II application: deficiencies including conformance to local zoning code, a stormwater basin, and underground analysis mentioned in the spring 2017 rejection were not cited in the latest deficiency letter sent Tuesday. Should Elcon resubmit an application deemed to be administratively complete, the DEP would then initiate a 10-month technical review during which it would actually review the plant's proposed operations.

"Needless to say, we are pleased with this temporary reprieve," Baxter wrote in an email. "We are also concerned with Elcon's ability to properly run a hazardous waste facility when they are having such difficulties completing their application."

Elcon officials have said the plant would use a technologically advanced "thermal oxidation" process that would limit toxic releases from the facility. A request for comment sent to the company Tuesday did not receive an immediate response.

POWA and other groups, such as the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, have been skeptical of the company's claims, calling the proposed facility an incinerator and raising concerns over air quality and drinking water contamination should chemicals from the plant reach the Delaware River during a flooding event or other accident.

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